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Phantom Eagle
Phantom Eagle is the name used by three fictional comic book aviator heroes. The first was introduced during the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of comic books by Fawcett Comics. The other two have appeared sporadically in various series published by Marvel Comics. Fawcett Comics thumb|left|''[[wikipedia:Wow Comics|Wow Comics'' #6 (July 1942). Phantom Eagle at right. Artist unknown.|]] Publication history The first Phantom Eagle was introduced by uncredited creators in Fawcett Comics' Wow Comics #6 (July 1942). Following his debut, the Golden Age Phantom Eagle appeared in every issue of Wow through the final issue, #69 (Aug. 1948). His primary writer-artist was Marc Swayze.Phantom Eagle (character, both Fawcett and Marvel versions) at the wikipedia:Grand Comics Database Fictional character biography The Phantom Eagle was teenager Mickey Malone, who, though forbidden by superior officer Sergeant Flogg at his military airbase in Great Britain, was determined to fight the World War II Axis powers. Donning an aviator-styled Costume and building his own airplane, he takes the name Phantom Eagle and becomes a secret ace. He later forms the Phoenix Squadron, a group of fellow teen pilots. During the post-war period, Malone formed a charter airline and searched for the Golden Chalice, a lost artifact upon which is inscribed the "Formula for Peace". Marvel Comics Publication history The second Phantom Eagle was an unrelated World War I hero created by writer Gary Friedrich and artist Herb Trimpe in Marvel Super-Heroes #16 (Sept. 1968). As Trimpe described, Marvel production manger John Verpoorten "had been a classmate at SVA. When I got out of the Air Force in October 1966, he worked in the production department at Marvel. He said they were hiring freelance people, and I should come up to the office and show my work to Sol Brodsky, who was [Lee|Stan [Lee's|]] right-hand man at the time. I said, 'Okay'. Later, while I was in the photostat department, I did the Phantom Eagle freelance, the first book I penciled. I think". Additional WebCitation archive, October 7, 2010. Note: Per the wikipedia:Grand Comics Database, Trimpe had actually made his professional penciling debut with two wikipedia:Kid Colt Western stories, in Kid Colt, Outlaw #134-135 (May & July 1967). Trimpe in 2002 described the character's creation: }} The character has made few appearances beyond his debut. The first was a Time travel story in The Incredible Hulk #135 (Jan. 1971). Next came a flashback appearance in Ghost Rider #12 (June 1975), in which the Phantom Eagle, as the cover proclaimed, was a real phantom. The Invaders #7 (July 1976) retconned the character as a member of the Freedom's Five, a newly created World War I team of costumed adventurers never subsequently seen. The Phantom Eagle also appeared for two panels in Thor Corps #3 (Nov. 1993), when the antagonist briefly alters reality. Ghost Rider #50 (Nov. 1980) contains a page of pinup art by Trimpe that one historian speculates[http://comics.org/details.lasso?id=34844#4 Ghost Rider #50] at the Grand Comics Database may have been an unused cover of issue #12. Fictional character biography In 1914, Karl Kaufman was a skilled American pilot from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, whose German parents had returned to their native country. Kaufman had become an expert stunt-pilot and co-owner of a flying circus, by 1917, when the United States entered World War I, and desired to fight the Central Powers. Concealing his identity so as not to risk reprisals against his parents, he devised a stylized aviator uniform with darkened goggles and a cape, and joined the European conflict to become an ace on the side of the Allies as a U.S. Army Air Corps test pilot. In his first mission as Phantom Eagle, he successfully led a U.S. fighter squadron against an experimental dirigible aircraft carrier with which German forces attempted to invade New York; however, he witnessed the death of his best friend, Rex Griffin, as a result.Marvel Super-Heroes #16 At one point the time-traveling dictator Kang the Conqueror sent the simpleminded brute the Hulk back to 1917 in an effort to secure a victory for Germany, by preventing the Phantom Eagle from destroying a key German super-weapon.Incredible Hulk #135 Another time, a brief altering of reality saw the Phantom Eagle's biplane pursued by modern jet fighters.Thor Corps #3 (Nov. 1993) The Phantom Eagle went on to join the team of costumed adventurers known as Freedom's Five, consisting of himself (the sole American), the Crimson Cavalier, the Silver Squire, Sir Steel, and Union Jack.recounted in Invaders #7 Kaufman and his parents were later killed together near the end of the war by German pilot Hermann von Reitberger, who strafed both the Phantom Eagle and the two civilians with his machine guns as they fled from Germany into Alsace, France. Swearing vengeance, the Phantom Eagle's spirit haunted and hunted von Reitberger through the years until, after a chance, modern-day encounter with the original Ghost Rider, he battled the aged German in aerial combat. With von Reitberger's death, Kaufman's vengeful spirit was allowed to pass on.Ghost Rider #12 (June 1975) Powers and abilities The Phantom Eagle was a normal man with no superhuman powers. He possessed good hand-to-hand fighting skills, and was an expert stunt-flyer and combat pilot. He customized his own World War I vintage biplane. Other versions Counter-Earth Phantom Eagle Thunderbolts #59 (Feb. 2002) revealed another Phantom Eagle existing in the Marvel Universe's Counter-Earth, located on the far side of the sun. He is the counterpart to our Earth's Lloyd Bloch, a.k.a. Nefarius, and lost his Moonstone to Karla Sofen, a.k.a. Moonstone, when the reformed-supervillain team the Thunderbolts were stranded on Counter-Earth. MAX Writer Garth Ennis and penciller-inker Howard Chaykin produced an alternate-reality version of the character in a World War I-set miniseries, War is Hell: The First Flight of the Phantom Eagle #1-5 (May-Sept. 2008), published under Marvel's mature-audience MAX imprint. References External links *Nevins, Jess. Jess Nevins' The Golden Age Heroes Directory *The Captain Marvel's (sic) Homepage: Phantom Eagle Bio *Marvel Directory: Phantom Eagle *Nevins, Jess. A Guide to Marvel's Pre-''FF'' #1 Heroes: Phantom Eagle and Freedom's Five * Category:Aviation comics Category:Fawcett Comics characters Category:Fawcett Comics superheroes Category:Fictional characters from Wisconsin Category:Fictional World War I veterans Category:Marvel Comics superheroes Category:World War I comics